The invention relates to a drag catch conveyor with an endless, driven pulling organ, which can be moved along a specified path and at which a number of drag catches are fastened, as well as to a rail system, which is disposed below the path.
Drag catch conveyors are known in various embodiments. As a rule, they comprise a rail system, a guiding mechanism for a pulling organ, such as an endless chain, disposed above the rails of the rail system, and a larger number of drag catches, pivotally mounted at the pulling organ. The drag catches take hold of objects, which are to be transported along the rails of the rail system. Such conveyors are frequently used for transporting articles of clothing on hangers with the help of the drag catches along the rails of the rail system.
Drag catches are attached to a supporting block generally so that they can be swivelled about a horizontal axis. In turn, the supporting block is mounted on the pulling organ. They extend from the supporting block to the rear, that is, counter to the transporting direction so that, with their hooks, they can take hold of or, by swiveling upward suitably, release objects on the rails.
So that the transported objects are pulled flat over the rails and not lifted up away from these, the drag catches need to have a certain length. This means that the distance between the drag caches at the pulling organ is sufficiently large and the number of drag catches, mounted on a pulling organ, is relatively small.
It is an object of the invention to create a drag catch conveyor of the above type, which makes a particularly tight sequence of the drag catches at the pulling organ possible.
Pursuant to invention, this objective is accomplished owing to the fact that the drag catches are mounted in a mutually overlapping manner at the pulling organ.
Preferably, the drag catches are disposed alternately offset to the right and to the left in relation to the conveying direction.
However, the drag catches can also be nested into each other in a different way, for example, in herringbone fashion.